UPDATE, July 19, 2024: Management of The Salt Lake Tribune has voluntarily recognized the union. "We look forward to working with Tribune employees in good faith, as we solve challenges together and continue our long tradition of outstanding journalism," CEO and Executive Editor Lauren Gustus wrote in note published by the Tribune. Our original story continues below.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s journalists want to unionize. Over 70% of newsroom staff informed management of their intent on July 15, a first since the Pulitzer Prize-winning paper was founded in 1870.
In a letter sent to Executive Editor and CEO Lauren Gustus, Tribune management and the board of directors, organizers say their only request right now is voluntary recognition of their union and collaboration on a labor contract that will “ensure The Tribune remains Utah’s independent voice.”
“Our goal with the union is to work in equal partnership with management to ensure [The Tribune] remains essential for the next 150 years and beyond,” said Audience Manager Jeff Dempsey in a statement about the formation of the Salt Lake News Guild.
The Guild is in collaboration with the Denver Newspaper Guild and Communications Workers of America.
According to their letter to management, organizers have filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The request would be withdrawn if the guild receives recognition on or before July 19.
After years of financial uncertainty, The Tribune was bought by Utah billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr. in 2017. The paper then transitioned to a nonprofit model in 2019, the first legacy newspaper operation in the country to do so.
Newsrooms across the country have turned to unionization in recent years to help insulate against a volatile and ever-changing media landscape, said NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik. There have been multiple layoffs and major restructuring in many newsrooms across the country, including in public media.
“This is one remedy that they can hold on to and identify as something that may cut against that and allow them to do the job that is fulfilling something they believe in, as opposed to simply just paying their bills, which is a perfectly legitimate thing for people to do anyway.”
Although there are no hard details of what a new labor contract would look like, organizers did praise recent changes at The Tribune that include paid family leave, 401(k) match, increases in paid time off and a flexible work-from-home policy. However, the unionizing employees expressed concern over “tying professional performance to metrics” like page views and website analytics.
“It fishes for eyeballs beyond Utah’s borders, sullies our brand and disincentivizes meaningful journalism that serves our true audience,” organizers wrote. “We are deeply concerned about journalists who have lost their jobs, at least in part, over page view quotas largely beyond their control, and others who have quit or considered quitting due to burnout.”
While the wealth of data available to journalists today can be a tremendous tool, Folkenflik said it all comes down to a delicate balance between what helps “understand our audience's interests and needs” and what incentivizes bad editorial habits.
“If we have important stories that they're not reading, we have to find different ways of telling those stories. These things can be useful tools,” he said. “If we're just punishing journalists because the story didn't go viral, or if they’re asked to write stories that aren't that kind and we're simply looking for the top of the charts to be the only reporters that we keep, you know, that will pull you into kind of sugar high after sugar high.”
Reporter Emily Anderson Stern called the formation of a union a “natural progression” for the paper.
“We're continually trying to do our jobs better and for the organization to grow and better serve the community,” she said. “And we think that the step of unionizing and reporters having more of a voice in what our coverage looks like is just a step in that direction, a step toward better serving Utahns, those who read us and those who don't read us.”
Equitable pay was also highlighted by organizers as a key issue as the unionization process moves forward, something Folkenflick highlighted as a pain point for working journalists from all corners of the industry.
“People don't often believe that reporters are working class, and that's certainly a fair thing to lob at the fancy television stars you know or the folks who write for the front page of The New York Times,” he said. “But in a lot of small newsrooms around the country, who are doing the jobs that two, three or four people used to not so many years ago, they're scrapping to keep their heads above water.”
Utah is a “right to work” state, meaning union membership is voluntary and a person's employment cannot be “denied or abridged” based on membership or non-membership in any labor organization.
In a note published on the Tribune’s website, CEO and Executive Editor Lauren Gustus said management will “respect [the newsroom’s] right to seek collective bargaining.”
“We will now start the process of working through this request. As this is a legal process, it will require a bit of time but we will respond as quickly as possible… We appreciate and support all of the journalists at The Tribune, and we look forward to all continuing to do this critical work together.”